Not rain, nor sleet, nor snow has slowed down the pace of Eastern ski racing — well, maybe just a little bit. Out of 16 men’s and women’s races scheduled since Dec. 14, 12 were completed and four were canceled or postponed because of bad weather. The silver lining from all the rain, however, is a bullet-proof surface on Spruce Peak’s Main Street where racers can test their skills.
Recent races included a USSA Vermont Cup men’s giant slalom at Okemo, an FIS women’s giant slalom at Stratton, a men’s Development FIS series at Sugarbush, a men’s Eastern Cup FIS series at Sugarloaf, and a women’s Eastern Cup series at Sunday River. While there were too many excellent finishes to report individually, there were some truly exceptional performances that warrant special attention.
Fifteen-year-old Trent Gutstein, skiing against college-age racers, pulled in a ninth place at the Vermont Cup race. Michelle Connacher continued her banner year by placing ninth at the Open FIS giant slalom, and ninth and 15th at the two giant slalom Eastern Cup races. Ryan Collopy, Calvin Dixon and James Marshall turned in top-10 finishes at the Sugarbush races.
Led by a group of 12 post-graduate racers, the MMSC men were dominant at the Sugarloaf Eastern Cup races, with six top-10 finishes across the four races (two giant slalom, two slalom). Only the University of New Hampshire had as many top finishes as MMSC. Top-10 athletes included Nick Cosentino, Charlie Harrison, Carter Robinson and Griffin Brown.
This week, MMSC racers competed in the annual Cochran’s Holiday Slalom on Dec. 29, the MMSC Race Into the New Year and Proctor FIS Slalom, both on New Year’s Eve. Look for results in next week’s Stowe Reporter.
Finally, starting Jan. 12, the Northern Vermont Council age group series starts with a U16 (14- to 15-year-olds) slalom at Cochran’s, and U14 (12- to 13-year-olds) giant slalom right here in Stowe.
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